NEWS STORIES

AUGUST 2016

A revolutionary effort to support on-farm conservation has added a new partner representing major agricultural companies, food companies and environmental groups. The new collaboration will accelerate the Soil Health Partnership’s leadership in helping farmers adopt practices that protect natural resources while potentially increasing profits. At the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, the industry-leading companies and environmental organizations today announced the launch of the Midwest Row Crop …

National Corn Growers Association leaders and staff are at the Farm Progress Show this week sharing our critical messages and organizational priorities with farmers, ag media, academic and industry partners. “The clear intent of our effort is to communicate the economic challenges farmers are facing and leverage NCGA’s position as a thought leader to raise awareness and drive solutions,” said Wesley Spurlock, NCGA’s incoming president. “We are working on …

The National Corn Growers Association continues its sixth season of Field Notes, a series that takes readers behind the farm gate to follow the year in the life of American farm families. While these growers come from diverse geographic areas and run unique operations, they share a common love for U.S. agriculture and the basic values that underpin life in farming communities. At the end of last week, Field …

A group of grain buyers from Taiwan visited Indiana and Michigan last week to become familiar with production, application, grading and quality standards for U.S. corn and distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS). The trip gave stakeholders the chance to gain technical skills and knowledge in handling, procurement and storage and offered critical insight into the advantages of purchasing U.S. corn and DDGS. Taiwan is the seventh largest U.S. …

This summer, CommonGround Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota and Texas held Field to Fork-style dinners in each of their respective states. Between the four events, these states were able to reach nearly 300 people with in-person conversations. These events highlighted the crops grown in their regions and served a dinner of locally-grown ingredients. The CommonGround Kansas dinner, hosted by Bismarck Gardens and Nunemaker-Ross Farms, brought more than 75 people from …

National Corn Growers Association President Chip Bowling this week congratulated Green Plains Inc. on the grand opening of their Hopewell, Virginia ethanol production facility, and called for further expansion of renewable fuels on the East Coast. “We are excited to see ethanol production back up and running in Virginia,” said Bowling, who farms corn, soybeans, and sorghum just 100 miles away in Newburg, Maryland. “The Hopewell plant will give …

Following a five-year hiatus from Malaysian shores, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), of which the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is a founding member, was recently on hand to welcome back the first vessel of corn from the United States since the historic drought in 2012/2013. The vessel, which was loaded from the Pacific Northwest, was sold from one USGC member to another, destined for a consortium of several key …

The National Corn Growers Association continues its sixth season of Field Notes, a series that takes readers behind the farm gate to follow the year in the life of American farm families. While these growers come from diverse geographic areas and run unique operations, they share a common love for U.S. agriculture and the basic values that underpin life in farming communities. This week, Field Notes caught up with …

National Corn Growers Association officers and senior staff gathered last week in Seattle, Washington for the biannual NCGA Agri-Industry Council meeting. Here, representatives of 12 leading agribusinesses discussed vital issues facing agriculture, shared information on their companies and sectors, heard from recognized speakers and learned about NCGA’s current initiatives. Established in 2007, the Agri-Industry Council facilitates dialogue between agribusinesses and NCGA to collectively address issues of mutual concern. “U.S. …

The National Corn Growers Association invites photographers of all skill levels to help tell the story of farming field corn in America through the third annual Fields-of-Corn Photo Contest. Through this contest, NCGA captures high-resolution photos of corn growth from seed to harvest and the families that grow it. Even those who have already submitted can enter additional photos as participants will be able to submit multiple entries until November …

The National Corn Growers Association continues its sixth season of Field Notes, a series that takes readers behind the farm gate to follow the year in the life of American farm families. While these growers come from diverse geographic areas and run unique operations, they share a common love for U.S. agriculture and the basic values that underpin life in farming communities. This week, Field Notes caught up with …

Losing access to the herbicide atrazine would be detrimental to both the farm economy and the environment, while setting a dangerous precedent for the future of crop management tools, National Corn Growers Association Board of Directors member Jim Zimmerman told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today at a field hearing on the impact of federal regulation on agriculture. In June, the Environmental Protection Agency released its …

A new report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on atrazine could cost the industry $2.5 billion in yield losses and increased input costs, at a time when net farm incomes are already in steep decline. “Farmers cannot afford to lose access to atrazine,” said Wesley Spurlock, a farmer from Stratford, Texas, and First Vice President of the National Corn Growers Association. “The farm economy has been struggling the …

With harvest underway in some areas and soon to begin in others, the National Corn Growers Association announces that online harvest forms for the 2016 National Corn Yield Contest are now available. While the harvest information form deadline may seem distant, entrants are asked to report within seven business days of their final yield check or by Nov. 21, whichever comes first. “While harvest has only begun in a …

Statement on Today’s USDA WASDE Report Chip Bowling, President National Corn Growers Association “Within recent days, we’ve heard a lot from both Presidential campaigns regarding issues that are important to rural America. We’ve heard opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership and attacks on our trade agreements—at the very time that agriculture needs to open new markets. We’ve heard support for expanding the use of renewable fuels—while American farmers are …

Growers gathered in Greensboro, N.C. this week for the first session of the NCGA Leadership Academy, co-sponsored by Syngenta. This year’s class includes 18 aspiring leaders from 11 states. Upon completion of the program in January, the participants will join more than 500 colleagues who have graduated from this program in the past 30 years. At the meeting, participants got an up-close look at NCGA from First Vice President …

The National Corn Growers Association welcomed two regulators from the Ministry of Agriculture in China today for discussions on the need to better synchronize regulatory systems and the importance U.S. farmers place upon the availability of new technologies. The meeting was only one stop in a three-month long program designed by Dr. Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes, director of the Economics and Management of Agrobiotechnology Center at the University of Missouri – Columbia, …

Eleven years ago this Monday, August 8, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was signed into law, ushering in a new era of rising energy security, cleaner air, and more affordable options at the pump. After more than a decade, the program continues to drive U.S. job creation and startling new innovations in renewable energy, a fact celebrated today by the nation’s leading biofuel advocates. “Our government challenged the biofuels …

The National Corn Growers Association continues its sixth season of Field Notes, a series that takes readers behind the farm gate to follow the year in the life of American farm families. While these growers come from diverse geographic areas and run unique operations, they share a common love for U.S. agriculture and the basic values that underpin life in farming communities. This week, Field Notes caught up with …

The National Corn Growers Association welcomes Anne Dietz, who joins the St. Louis office as program coordinator for the Soil Health Partnership (SHP). Dietz brings an excellent combination of program management skills and extensive knowledge of many aspects of agriculture. In this new position, she will provide support to share information and research across the full network of SHP partner organizations. “Anne is an excellent addition to our team, …

A recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) draft report on atrazine ignores a large body of scientific evidence affirming the herbicide’s safety, setting a dangerous precedent for all crop protection tools, says Brent Hostetler, a farmer from Plain City, Ohio, and chair of the National Corn Growers Association’s Production and Stewardship Action Team. “Federal law requires the EPA to base its decisions on science. And the science on this is …

From the novice to the experienced, Soil Health Partnership field days scheduled for this summer and fall offer education in advanced farming practices for Indiana farmers. They can learn from experts and peers about the economic and environmental benefits of improved soil health. The events—currently slated for August through September—are hosted by area farmers enrolled in the Soil Health Partnership, as well as other local organizations. Confirmed events …